Medical Tribunal Clears Anaesthetist to Resume Practice After 2023 Operating-Theatre Incident

A medical tribunal in Manchester has cleared consultant anaesthetist Suhail Anjum to resume his medical career while imposing a written warning on his registration for two years over an incident in which he left a patient during surgery to engage in sexual activity with a colleague.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found that Dr. Anjum's conduct in 2023 at Tameside General Hospital amounted to serious misconduct but concluded his fitness to practise was not impaired and that there was a "very low risk" of repetition. The panel said a public warning was necessary to maintain public confidence and to act as a deterrent.

The hearing was told that Dr. Anjum, 44, left a patient undergoing keyhole surgery to remove a gallbladder after telling colleagues he needed a "comfort break." A second nurse who entered an adjoining theatre found Dr. Anjum and another nurse in a "compromising position." The tribunal said Dr. Anjum had "engaged in sexual activity within a public workplace setting, whilst on duty, in the middle of an operation," breached good medical practice and placed his own interests before those of his patient and colleagues.

The panel accepted evidence that the patient was unharmed. It also cited Dr. Anjum's honesty in admitting the allegations and his remorse. In submissions to the tribunal, he said the incident occurred during a period when he and his wife "were not connecting as a couple," and described the episode as the "lowest point" of his career. He said he felt "shame and guilt at this horribly embarrassing incident" and told the panel it was "a one-off error" that he would not repeat.

Panel chair Rebecca Miller described the actions as "deplorable" and acknowledged the breach of professional standards, but concluded the conduct represented "a momentary lapse of judgement rather than a sustained pattern of behaviour." The panel therefore decided a written warning, to remain on Dr. Anjum's registration for two years, was the appropriate sanction.

Dr. Anjum qualified in Lahore in 2004 and began working in the UK in 2011. He held posts in Bristol, Milton Keynes and Dartford before joining the Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust in 2015. He left the trust in 2024, worked in Liverpool, and has since returned to Pakistan. The tribunal heard that he has expressed hopes of returning to work in the NHS.

The tribunal's ruling stressed the need to protect public confidence in the profession and the regulatory system. It noted mitigating factors including the absence of previous disciplinary findings, the single-instance nature of the misconduct, the lack of harm to the patient, and Dr. Anjum's remorse and candidness during proceedings.

The written warning means the findings will be publicly recorded on the doctor's registration for the specified period, after which it will no longer be publicly available. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service handles fitness-to-practise issues for doctors in the UK and considers evidence, professional standards, and risk of repetition when determining sanctions.

The trust where the incident occurred and the nursing staff involved did not provide new comment to the tribunal record cited at the hearing. The tribunal's determination concludes the regulatory aspect of the case; any separate employment or criminal proceedings were not part of the medical tribunal's remit and were not detailed in its published findings.